With less than 30 hours to the conclusion of the ongoing United Nations Plastics Treaty negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, delegations from Nigeria and over 80 other countries have dismissed a newly released draft text proposed for adoption.
On Wednesday, the head of the Nigerian delegation in Geneva, Jibrin Ahmadu, for the first time, articulated Nigeria’s concerns about the new text. The contentious text was published about two hours before the commencement of a scheduled plenary at 4:00 p.m. in Geneva (3:00 p.m. GMT).
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Nigeria’s reaction at the plenary comes after nine days of engagement during which the government had been absent from the crucial negotiations. PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the Nigerian government has been missing in action since the commencement of the talks last week Tuesday, despite the impact of plastic pollution in the country.
“We have our concerns regarding the text that has just been released. We want to specifically mention that the text has gone out of the United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 5/14. It has not addressed the full life cycle approach of plastics,” Mr Ahmadu said while delivering Nigeria’s statement at the plenary.
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Just as several other countries took turns to criticise the draft text, the Nigerian delegate argued that the proposed text had no standalone “article on health” and “measures to identify and restrict hazardous chemicals”.
This, he said, includes endocrine-damaging chemicals that are also left out. The Nigerian official also lamented that the text does not reflect processes to address the impacts of plastic pollution on health and the environment in low and middle-income countries, where plastic production and consumption are increasing.
“Requirements for transparency around the production and use of chemical plastics are left out. We believe strongly that if these are addressed, we may want to further engage,” Mr Ahmadu said.
Emerging concerns about proposed text
Following the release of the proposed text dubbed “Chair’s Draft Text Proposal”, the Co-chairs of the four Contact Groups—under which the different thematic areas of the text were discussed— and the Co-Chair’s facilitators, took turns to deliver their brief remarks on issues /resolutions from their respective meeting groups.
All the presenters acknowledged that “divergence exists” among parties across blocs on the articles.
They also noted that some members, especially under the “contact group”, who were assigned articles 11 and 12, do not get the opportunity to discuss significant paragraphs of these articles.
These articles speak to contentious thematic areas among parties, such as “technology transfer, international cooperation, as well as implementation and compliance,’’ respectively, under the negotiating text.
After the legal drafting group made their presentation on the text, the session was trailed by criticism from heads of delegations across parties.
The delegates argued that there were “significant gaps” in the proposed text and it does not have the “ tools” to deliver on the mandates conferred on them by their respective countries.
A review of the new text by this publication shows that the content of the proposal was cut down to 12 pages from the controversial 35 pages that were initially published and presented last Saturday, after four days of negotiations.
“The text is clearly unbalanced, and it is not a mandate for further deliberation,” says Chile’s head of delegation, Julio Cordano. Similarly, Columbia’s head of delegation, Sebastian Rodriguez, argued that the proposed draft is “unacceptable and should not be moved forward.”
This was corroborated by the heads of delegations of Panama, Fiji, the EU and 27 member states, Kenya, and Ghana, among others.
All of these officials expressed disappointment over the proposal, urging the INC Chair, Luis Valdivieso, to provide “something new”.
During the plenary on Wednesday, over 80 member states rejected the process and text, about four countries agreed on a way forward, while two United States of America and Paraguay were in between.
Several recommendations on the way forward were presented by these representatives. The majority of these delegates urged the INC Chair to consult regional heads of the disagreeing parties and then present a new text for deliberation at the closing plenary on Thursday.
In response to the criticisms, the INC chair explained that regional consultation is not working, and that he will need to sit with the Heads of Delegation (HoD+1) to agree on contentious issues. His proposal was dismissed.
“We need an effective treaty for our people and planet,” the United Kingdom head of delegation echoed.
As these back and forth continue, Nigeria’s delegation suggested to the assembly that the issues should not be flogged further, noting that since “Red lines” have been identified, and concerns have been registered, the proposed text should be adjusted pending further reviews.
“It is important Mr Chair, you go back with your team, articulate what has been presented as redlines and concerns, then the document circulated for us to look at, after which we can have this meeting,” he noted.
The official said Nigeria’s delegation will not sit in any regional meetings until the concerns are addressed.
CSOs/observer groups react
The INC chair’s new text has elicited reaction among civil society groups in Geneva, as the final lap of the negotiations stretches through the night.
Reacting to the text proposal, Graham Forbes, Greenpeace USA, described the Chair’s new text as a gift to the petrochemical industry and a betrayal of humanity.
“By failing to address production or harmful chemicals in any way, this text glorifies the industry lie that we can recycle our way out of this crisis, ignoring the root cause: the relentless expansion of plastic production,” Greenpeace said.
The group said for more than two years, negotiations have been mired in procedural gridlock, and tactical delays playing into industry hands, urging ministers in Geneva to reject the text, uphold the ambition they have promised, and serve the people who trusted them to act.
David Azoulay of the Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL) said the new chair’s text makes a mockery of a three-year-long consultative process that showed broad support for an ambitious plastics treaty that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics, including production.
READ ALSO: #Plastic Treaty: Nigeria missing as ministers, representatives discuss plastic pollution treaty in Geneva
“While there are token references to UNDRIP, human rights, and human health, the provisions that follow undermine any and all measures that follow,” the official said.
As the negotiation is drawing to a close, it is still unclear if the parties will be able to deliver on the treaty.
If a final text is agreed upon at the closing plenary proposed for Thursday (14 August), a meeting tagged the Diplomatic Conference of the Plenipotentiaries (DipCon) will be convened.
At the DipCon, countries will come together to adopt the treaty, which then opens it up for ratification. Treaties often bear the name of the city where the DipCon is held.
![Senate Plenary [PHOTO CREDIT: @NgrSenate]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2023/07/354268035_654295030076485_7953497666616591823_n.jpg?fit=1280%2C852&ssl=1)
